Archives for 6 月 2025
Bible Verse–Hebrews 10:26-27
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Bible Verse–2 Peter 2:14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Bible Verse–Hebrews 12:14
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
How She Emerged From Her Torment of the Suspicion of Her Husband
By Yiyi
Seeing many people around her followed the evil social trends and thus led a double life, she, like many women, was also afraid that her husband would cheat on her. So she was often suspicious of him. When they gave each other the cold shoulder due to her misunderstandings and suspicions of her husband, what power dispelled all her suspicions and saved their marriage which was on the brink of separation? Please read this article, and you’ll know the best way to solve the marriage crisis.
Feeling Anxious on the Bus
One afternoon in July, the sun, like a big furnace, was baking the earth. Yiyi was waiting for a bus. Although under her parasol, she could still feel the dazzling sunlight streamed through the parasol and shone on her. This made her mood even more irritable.
Yiyi felt oppressed because she just learnt that her friend’s husband had led a double life. She thought: My friend is young and beautiful and has a cheerful disposition, and moreover, they loved each other a lot before. How could her husband cheat on her?
At the thought that her friend sighed and groaned and became speechless after her husband cheated on her, Yiyi felt both annoyed and anxious. She was scared: Will my marriage also break up? How should I keep my love fresh and alive? If my marriage turns loveless over time, how should I deal with it?
At this time, the bus arrived. Yiyi furled her parasol, got on it and sat in a window seat. The moment the bus started, a young woman’s voice came which was heard distinctly in this quiet bus, saying, “Recently my husband always said that he was busy. He neither came home after his work, nor allowed me to go to his company to visit him. One day, I went to his company and met his mistress. Both of them acknowledged their love affair. What should I do?”
Hearing these, Yiyi got a shock. Looking up, Yiyi saw that the woman on the phone was in her thirties. Yiyi didn’t know whether it was her family or her friend answering her phone, nor did Yiyi know how the woman was told to resolve this matter. Yiyi but clearly heard this woman crying as she said the last words. Alas, who can withstand the cruel blow of her husband’s cheating on her? Yiyi, powerlessly leaning her head against the window, closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
Evil Trends Brought Her Hidden Sadness About Her Marriage
Yiyi was a perfectionist in both marriage and love. She considered it unacceptable that the married couple cheated on each other. And she couldn’t even tolerate the spiritual infidelity. She and her husband were both Christians, and they knew that God’s righteous disposition allows no offense. But in daily life, Satan’s temptation everywhere really made Yiyi feel worried.
Also, Yiyi is inferior to her husband in appearance, which let her feel the same. Her husband is tall and gentle; though not very talkative, he is attentive and patient. In contrast, Yiyi is small and plain. When they walked together, Yiyi felt she wasn’t good-looking enough for her husband. When they went to have their wedding photos taken, the photographer didn’t praise her, but instead praised her husband for his handsome features. Yiyi had a strong sense of loss after that experience.
After they got married, their life went smoothly. Recently there were some changes in his work. Yiyi thought: Now he spends most of his time working with his female colleagues of his age, who pay attention to skin care and dress well. Will he and his female colleagues develop some affections for each other after spending a lot of time in their company? Moreover, today’s social conduct is so depraved and corrupt that extramarital love has become a new trend revered and followed by people. Will my husband be affected by such trends? Sometimes, the more Yiyi thought about these things, the more she felt as if her marriage was on the verge of collapsing.
The Family Conflict Arose From Suspicion
When Yiyi chatted with her sister recently, her sister’s words made her much more miserable. Her sister said: “In today’s society, extramarital affairs are very common. If a couple wants to have a good life, they have to turn a blind eye to this. So you shouldn’t take it to heart. It’s alright.” Her sister then gave Yiyi examples that many friends around her sister betrayed their marriage.
Faced with these facts, Yiyi fell into Satan’s temptation and snared unconsciously. So she began to be on her guard against her husband, and always tried to see whether her husband was faithful to her and whether he cared about her from his words. If he spoke in somewhat cool tones, she felt he had deliberately snubbed her; if he showed some consideration for her, she thought he did so just because of having a secret and feeling guilty. Yiyi then began to read text messages on her husband’s phone to pay close attention to the interaction between her husband and his female colleagues. Once she found any clue, she would question him thoroughly like a detective, attempting to know all the details and the background of those who made comments on her husband’s WeChat moments.
Before long, her husband helped one of his female colleagues repair her computer. However, he didn’t timely report it to Yiyi, which became the apple of discord. So they had a huge verbal fight.
“You are simply making groundless accusations. I didn’t tell you such a small trifle just because it would only make you more thin-skinned.” said her husband indignantly.
Yiyi answered him back: “You didn’t dare to tell the truth all because there’s something fishy about you. Moreover, it is out of womanly nature that I’m suspicious and jealous. That’s because I care about you. And you? You even kept a secret like this from me. How can I feel a sense of security?”
In the end, her husband slammed the door and left, while Yiyi stayed in the room in a huff and cried. Thereafter, their relationship reached an impasse, and the family cold war began.
Relying on God, They Went Through Their Marriage Crisis
There was no liveliness or happiness of times past in their home. It seemed as if the bear lovers’ smile in the picture hanging on the wall was awkward. Seeing that her husband was curling up in the corner of the sofa in low spirits, Yiyi’s heart was stung. She thought to herself: Am I really unreasonable? If I were in his shoes, perhaps I also couldn’t put up with myself. Will I be first reconciled with him? Nope, it isn’t only my fault. … But this cold war is really not what I want. She struggled and struggled in her heart, yet had no courage to put herself aside.
So, she came before God and poured out her heart to Him. She felt He had been observing her actions and that He couldn’t bear watching her being afflicted and bound by her corrupt satanic disposition. Therefore, she regretted not having come before God, or having relied on Him to solve the problems with the truth as soon as possible.
Then, Yiyi told a sister that she was in her torment. The sister patiently pointed out that Yiyi relied on her corrupt satanic disposition to suspect her husband, and that she needed to reflect on herself and put truth into practice according to God’s words to change herself as soon as possible.
Through the reminding of the sister, God enlightened Yiyi and she thought of His words: “I take pleasure in those who are not suspicious of others, and I like those who readily accept the truth; toward these two kinds of people I show great care, for in My eyes they are honest people.”
God is faithful. He does things all according to the facts and never does wrong to anyone. So He requires that we should not be suspicious of others based on our own imagination, and should become honest people. Thinking back, she reflected on herself: It was because of her own suspicion that she regarded her imaginations as facts and imposed them on her husband. This was unfair to him. In fact, her husband once explained to her why he helped his female colleague and the whole story. However, due to her cunning nature she didn’t trust him, and often made trouble out of nothing, so that their relationship reached an impasse. At that time, Yiyi understood that all their pain was caused by her corrupt disposition, and that because of her suspicion of her husband, the discord crept into their stable relationship. When thinking of these, Yiyi was somewhat steady and at peace in her heart and wasn’t fooled by Satan. Then, unconsciously, their relationship began to improve.
Later, she read these words of God: “If people have no verbal or spiritual communication, then there is no possibility of intimacy between them, and they cannot provide for each other or help one another. … Do not put on a disguise, and do not package yourself; instead, lay yourself and your heart bare for others to see. If you can lay your heart bare for others to see, and lay bare all your thoughts and plans—both positive and negative—then are you not being honest?”
Yiyi realized both of them didn’t know how to open up to each other. Her husband was introverted and not good at expressing himself. Many of his thoughts were deep inside him, and he kept them to himself. Besides, Yiyi was arrogant and capricious, and she would close the door of her heart if she was unhappy. After their marriage, though seldom raising Cain, they always repressed their emotions and didn’t have much real communication which could promote the intimacy and understanding between them. Through reading God’s words, Yiyi knew: God requires us humans to be honest people. When we lay our heart bare to others through verbal or spiritual communication, we will become intimate with each other. She believed that as long as she acted according to God’s words, their marriage could be saved.
By Opening Their Hearts, They Saved Their Marriage From the Brink of Divorce
On a quiet night, their room was snug in the warm light. Yiyi and her husband poured their hearts out to each other and shared their recent knowledge and gains. She apologized to him, and confessed that she had been suspicious of him those days. She misunderstood him and even didn’t let him explain what had happened. She thought she did all this for the sake of love. However, after coming before God and seeking the truth, she realized that it was a corrupt disposition, and an expression of self-righteousness. Then, Yiyi sincerely asked her husband to forgive her. And he also opened himself and told Yiyi that he had sulked at her for he couldn’t accept her suspicions and misunderstandings of him. But when thinking of God’s requirements that people should learn to be tolerant and patient and to understand others, he did not sulk anymore.
When hearing these, Yiyi felt ashamed that they both had lived in misery and fallen into Satan’s scheme because of her corrupt disposition. Her husband then said he, when facing evil social trends at work, kept away from temptation through praying for God to protect him. Hearing these words, Yiyi smiled involuntarily and kept thanking God within. It was the truth expressed by God that watered and supplied them. And it was God who led them step by step and watched them grow. And He helped them know how to live and conduct themselves, so they didn’t follow the evil trends.
God’s words say, “Whenever Satan corrupts man or inflicts unbridled harm upon man, God does not stand idly by, and neither does He brush aside or turn a blind eye to those He has chosen. God understands with perfect clarity all that Satan does. No matter what Satan does, no matter what trend it causes to arise, God knows all that Satan is trying to do, and God does not give up on those He has chosen. Instead, without attracting any attention—secretly, silently—God does everything that is necessary.”
Contemplating God’s words and integrating her recent experiences with them, Yiyi felt more of God’s love. They lived in this evil society, but because of God’s protection, she and her husband could be faithful to each other, and didn’t get divorced when their marriage was on the rocks, but instead reflected upon themselves according to God’s words and found the way to save their marriage. It was because of God’s grace and protection that they saved their relationships and marriage. After pouring their hearts out to each other, Yiyi and her husband offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God together.
Bible Verse–Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Bible Verse–Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
In Despair, I Relied on God to Witness a Miracle
By Wu Ming, China
Hearing God’s Voice in My Pain
One day in April 2015, when I was away on business, my wife suddenly called and said that our son was diagnosed with leukemia at several hospitals. Hearing this news, I immediately felt as if the sky were falling. I thought: “My son is so young and still has a long way to go. How could he have this dreadful disease?” After I went back home, it occurred to me that science was highly developed today so it could surely cure my son’s illness. Therefore, I pinned all my hopes on science—during the day I bustled about looking for a hospital with high-tech medical equipment and doctors with excellent medical skills, and at night I searched online for various related materials. I constantly thought about relying on science to treat my son. I was put under great pressure during that period and really felt very tired and painful.
Seeing how I was suffering, my wife urged me to believe in God. She said, “The fate of man lies in God’s hands. Whether our son can recover from his illness is also ruled by God. Our anxiety is useless. As long as we put our son in God’s hands and obey God’s orchestrations and arrangements, we will feel relaxed and free. Let me read some God’s words to you.” Hearing this, I thought, “His illness can only be cured through scientific medical treatment. Does believing in God work?” Despite this doubt, I wanted to listen. At this time, my wife read, “Mankind simply does not know who the Sovereign of the universe and all things is, much less the beginning and future of mankind. Mankind merely lives, perforce, amidst this law. None can escape it and none can change it, for among all things and in the heavens there is but One from everlasting to everlasting who holds sovereignty over everything. He is the One who has never been beheld by man, the One whom mankind has never known, in whose existence mankind has never believed—yet He is the One who blew the breath into mankind’s ancestors and gave life to mankind. He is the One who provides and nourishes mankind, allowing him to exist; and He is the One who has guided mankind up to the present day. Moreover, He and He alone is the One mankind depends on for survival. … Regardless of whether you are able to recognize God’s deeds, and regardless of whether you believe in the existence of God, there is no doubt that your fate is determined by God, and there is no doubt that God will always hold sovereignty over all things. His existence and authority are not predicated upon whether or not they are recognized and comprehended by man. Only He knows man’s past, present, and future, and only He can determine the fate of mankind.”
After reading these words, my wife said, “God’s words make it very clear. The laws of all things and mankind’s fate are all under God’s rule and predestination. How many setbacks we will encounter and how many difficulties we will suffer, as well as our life and death are all in God’s hands. Science can’t change these things, nor can anyone. Believe in God. God is the wellspring of our lives and only God is our support. We are unable to save our child. We should entrust everything to God and believe that God makes the best arrangements. If we read more of God’s words, understand the truth and see through these things, our life won’t be so miserable.”
After hearing God’s words and my wife’s fellowship, I thought of how I had been busy looking for a good hospital and consulting relevant information those last few months, believing that science could cure my son. But not only did nothing work, I ended up mentally and physically exhausted, unable to eat or sleep. Now I knew that it is God who controls my son’s life and death. So, my worry was really useless. Maybe entrusting my son to God could really give me some release. At this thought I suddenly felt not that miserable.
My state changed along with my son’s condition.
In December 2016, I began to participate in church life, where brothers and sisters patiently fellowshiped the truth to me and had me learn to rely on God and entrust my son’s illness to God’s hands. Afterward, when I learned to tell God of my difficulties in prayers, my son’s condition improved a little, which made me very happy and increased my faith in God. But my son had his good days and his bad. When his illness got worse, I began to feel awful, and especially when he needed chemotherapy, I began to waver, thinking: “I believe in God, but since science is advanced today I have to look for a best hospital and the best doctors to treat my son’s illness. This way, my son will get better.” Gradually, I started attending meetings and praying less and less, and became perfunctory in reading God’s words. When a sister learned of my situation, she fellowshiped with me, “Brother, we should be aware that it is God who bestows life upon man and it is also God who holds man’s fate. Science can only bring us temporary material enjoyment. It can’t determine our fate, much less save our lives. We should have genuine faith in God.”
After saying all this, the sister read out a passage of God’s words for me: “In the development of mankind today, the science of mankind can be said to be flourishing, and the achievements of man’s scientific exploration can be described as impressive. Man’s ability, it must be said, is growing ever greater, but there is one scientific breakthrough that mankind has been unable to make: Mankind has made airplanes, aircraft carriers, and the atomic bomb, mankind has gone into space, walked on the moon, invented the Internet, and come to live a hi-tech lifestyle, yet mankind is incapable of creating a living, breathing thing. The instincts of every living creature and the laws by which they live, and the cycle of life and death of every kind of living thing—all these are beyond the power of mankind’s science, and cannot be controlled by it. At this point, it must be said that no matter what great heights are attained by the science of man, it is incomparable to any of the thoughts of the Creator, and is incapable of discerning the miraculousness of the Creator’s creation and the might of His authority.” She also read a passage of Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, “No one can change God’s authority. Besides, no science can explain it. Doesn’t this reflect one aspect of God’s authority? Some people are extremely healthy and the test results show that there are no issues, yet they suddenly contract cancer and die. Some people are very weak and delicate, yet they live 80 or 90 years. How to explain this? Is this in line with natural laws? This is the embodiment of one aspect of God’s authority. Everything is down to God’s predestination, and no one can change it.”
From God’s words and this sermon, I understood that, no matter how flourishing science is, it is incomparable to God’s sovereignty. Through relying on science, mankind is unable to create any living thing, let alone control its own fate. Nowadays, science is indeed highly developed, and the hospital has many highly-skilled doctors and advanced medical equipment, yet there are still many people who die of incurable diseases every day. What does this show? This reminded me of a report on Chinese health. It revealed that every 30 seconds a person gets cancer, every 30 seconds a person comes down with diabetes, and every 30 seconds at least a person dies of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. The report also stated that 22 percent of the middle-aged Chinese die from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, the proportion of the subhealthy white-collar workers is 76%, the prevalence rate of chronic disease is 20%, and chronic disease deaths account for 83% of the death toll. … Could it be that those tortured by diseases have no money for treatment? Could it be that science isn’t developed enough? Absolutely not! This is sufficient to show that science, medical skill, and money can’t save man from the torture of disease, and that man’s life and death as well as man’s destiny can’t be controlled by science but are ruled by God.
In this experience I saw that I had been deeply corrupted by Satan. Ever since I was little, I had been subject to and influenced by the country’s education, and so the idea of scientific development had been rooted deep in my heart. As a result, I had been venerating science the last few decades, and looking at everything from the perspective of science, and I believed that science could solve all problems. Though I believed in God, I still worshiped science, and even saw it as higher than God, having no place for God at all in my heart. After my son fell sick, when I sincerely depended on God at first, I saw God’s deeds. But later when I saw his condition was not stable, I lost my faith to rely on God, and even became less active in attending meetings and reading God’s words; I still believed in science, and thought that science and doctors could cure man’s illness. However, I ended up seeing no improvement in my son’s condition. Yet God didn’t remember my foolishness and ignorance, neither did He abandon me because of my weakness. Through the sister’s fellowship on God’s words, God allowed me to see that only He can save people while science can’t. I should let go of my wrong views, learn to rely on God, entrust God completely with my son’s illness, and obey God’s sovereignty. If my faith in God is always only in words and I don’t rely on God when encountering things, then how could I consider myself to truly believe in God? After coming to this realization, I began to go to meetings regularly. Through reading God’s words, I experienced that God’s words are indeed the truth and that only by coming before God could I feel secure and calm.
Sincerely Praying to God in Despair, Seeing a Miracle
On July 9, 2017, my son was hospitalized again for chemotherapy. After using chemicals, my son couldn’t keep anything down, unable to take any food at all. The torture of illness left my son listless and dizzy, and he was losing hair severely. Seeing my son in agony made me very painful, and I really wished to take his place. After taking care of him for a week, I really couldn’t bear seeing my son being racked with illness, so I let my wife care for him by herself. On July 22, my wife rang me up and said, “Our son’s platelets are nearly off and there are no such platelets at this hospital.” Hearing this news, my head felt as if it was going to blow out, and I thought, “If it goes on like this, my son will die at any minute.” Then I rushed to the hospital to donate platelets for my son, yet the doctors said that I couldn’t do so due to my recent operation. In panic, I recalled a person who once provided platelets for my son. I immediately ran back home to look for his phone number, yet I drew a blank. In my urgency, I turned to my friends and relatives for help, and ran around to look for a person who could provide platelets for my son. However, some were unwilling to do so, and some didn’t have the same blood type as my son’s. This caused me to feel anxious and afraid with no inclination to eat, and I constantly worried that my son’s illness couldn’t be cured. I spent the whole night in torment …
The next day, it suddenly occurred to me that no human can be in charge of man’s life and death and they are all controlled by God. It’s true. I should entrust my son into God’s hands and sincerely rely on Him. Thus, I constantly prayed to God, “O God, my son’s life is in danger and I fail to find a suitable donor. I’m very afraid. God, my son’s life was bestowed by You. I’m willing to entrust his illness to You. Whether he lives or dies is determined by You. I wish to obey Your sovereignty and arrangements. Please protect my heart so I can stand firm in this situation.” After praying, I no longer felt that painful and frightened, and I believed that everything is in God’s hands. The following day, my child looked much better. After examinations, the doctor said that my son’s platelets were gradually increasing, which showed that my son was saved. This brought much joy to my wife and me. I knew clearly in my heart that God had heard my prayers and that my son’s condition turning better was God’s deeds. What was more unexpected was that, two days later the doctor told us that my son could be discharged. This immediately flooded me with emotions to the point that I didn’t know how to thank God. I truly saw that our destiny is in God’s hands, that God can turn nothing into something and something into nothing. God is truly almighty and miraculous! This fulfilled precisely the words of God, “Any and all things, whether living or dead, will shift, change, renew, and disappear in accordance with God’s thoughts. Such is the way in which God presides over all things.” When my son was afflicted by illness, science and high medical skills had been found sorely wanting; when I turned my wrong views around and sincerely prayed to God, I saw that everything is in God’s hands and that only God is my strong support. This experience enabled me to see God’s mightiness and authority. I felt from the bottom of my heart that relying on God is my only way out.
Those who know God’s authority and accept God’s sovereignty are wise people.
Afterward, I read the following passage of God’s words, “When you look squarely at God’s authority, when you accept His sovereignty, you will gradually come to realize and understand the truth of the existence of God’s authority. But if you never recognize God’s authority and never accept His sovereignty, then no matter how many years you live, you will not gain the slightest knowledge of God’s sovereignty. If you do not truly know and understand God’s authority, then when you reach the end of the road, even if you have believed in God for decades, you will have nothing to show for your life, and you will naturally not have the least knowledge of God’s sovereignty over human fate. Is this not a very sad thing? So, no matter how far you have walked in life, no matter how old you are now, no matter how long the rest of your journey may be, first you must recognize God’s authority and take it seriously, and accept the fact that God is your unique Master.”
God’s words allowed me to realize that if we believe in God but don’t know God’s sovereignty, then we will be unable to truly see God’s authority, and that if we keep believing in this manner, our belief will be in vain and devoid of all meaning and value. Thinking back, when faced with my son’s illness, because I had no knowledge of God’s sovereignty and authority, I would rely on and believe in science rather than depend on God, thereby living in unbearable pain. Contrary to my expectations, however, when I had no one and nowhere to turn to, through sincerely praying to God I witnessed God’s deeds, and my child’s platelet counts were elevated. This experience gave me a true appreciation that God’s authority truly exists, that it’s even more so of a fact that God rules over man’s fate, and that no man can rule himself. Only by submitting to God’s orchestrations and arrangements can we be truly wise.
From then on, no matter how busy my business was, I persisted in praying to God every day, and I frequently read God’s words and sang God’s praises with brothers and sisters. Living like this felt much more relaxed and put my heart at ease. I was no longer suffering over my son’s illness, and I sincerely handed him over to God. No matter how his condition developed and no matter what would become of his illness, I was willing to accept and obey God’s sovereignty. After I made this resolve before God, I saw that my son’s condition was improving—he could eat normally and was looking better and better every day. My heart felt liberated and my faith in God grew. I was determined to pursue the truth diligently and walk the right path of life.
Bible Verse–Isaiah 53:6-7
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.
Bible Verse–Matthew 16:15-16
He said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Are You Really Worshiping the Lord Jesus at Christmas?
Christmas has come. Santa Clauses, and Christmas trees and presents are everywhere on the streets. The whole city is decorated with illuminations and colorful ribbons, full of joy. Walking in the bustling crowd, I couldn’t help thinking: Do people still remember the redemptive work done by the Lord Jesus incarnate?
When I attended services in the church, I often heard others said: In the second half of the year, the church mainly concentrates on the preparation of the Christmas party, for the Christmas meeting is a most-attended meeting. But after that, people return to their old life. It seems that Christmas is only an occasion for reunion, celebration, and fun. Whenever I saw such scenes, I would think to myself: After Christmas is over, what will remain in our mind? The performances? The presents we’ve received? Nice food? Or the salvation of the Lord Jesus? How many people receive the Lord’s salvation because of Christmas party? How many brothers and sisters come to understand the Lord Jesus’ mind of saving us because of Christmas? Is such action really in accordance with the Lord Jesus’ teachings? However, I never found out the answer. All that I could do was to comfort myself again and again: Better to do than never try. So, previously, I spent every Christmas like that.
It was not until I accepted God’s work in the last days and read God’s words that I finally found the answer and understood God’s will. I read God’s words, “‘But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day’ (Mat 12:6–8). … When the Lord Jesus said this, there was a premise behind His words, which was that under the law, people had come to see the temple as something greater than God Himself. That is, people worshiped the temple rather than worshiping God, so the Lord Jesus warned them not to worship idols, but to instead worship God, for He is supreme. Thus, He said: ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.’ It is evident that in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, most people living under the law no longer worshiped Jehovah, but were merely going through the motions of sacrificing, and the Lord Jesus determined that this constituted idol worship. These idol-worshipers saw the temple as something greater and higher than God. In their hearts there was only the temple, not God, and if they were to lose the temple, then they would lose their dwelling place. Without the temple they had nowhere to worship and could not carry out their sacrifices. Their so-called ‘dwelling place’ is where they used the false pretense of worshiping Jehovah God in order to stay in the temple and carry out their own affairs. Their so-called ‘sacrificing’ was just them carrying out their own personal shameful dealings under the guise of conducting their service in the temple. This was the reason people at that time saw the temple as greater than God. The Lord Jesus spoke these words as a warning to people, because they were using the temple as a front, and sacrifices as a cover for cheating people and cheating God. … Those people that value rules see rules as greater than God, those people that love status see status as greater than God, those that love their career see careers as greater than God, and so on—all their expressions lead Me to say: ‘People praise God as the greatest through their words, but in their eyes everything is greater than God.’ This is because as soon as people find an opportunity along their path of following God to display their own talents, or to carry out their own business or their own career, they distance themselves from God and throw themselves into their beloved career. As for what God has entrusted to them, and His will, those things have long since been discarded. What is the difference between the state of these people and those who conducted their own business in the temple two thousand years ago?”
God’s words made me understand why God said “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” Mercy is God’s disposition and God’s salvation of man, whereas sacrifice is merely a formality in the eyes of God. Nowadays, churches hold lavish parties for celebration. By doing so, they are not worshiping God sincerely, but only focus on outward formality like those who worshiped God in the temple. If one believes in God yet merely focuses on outward practices and doesn’t walk in God’s ways, could he be called one who reveres God? In retrospect, since I became a Christian, though I often read the Bible, prayed, and attended meetings, I didn’t esteem the way of the Lord, much less did I understand it. Which is greater, God or the temple, the festival or the way of God? I was not clear about this in my heart. Thus, I placed great importance on action, thinking that it’s better to do than never, but I didn’t know God’s will and what God approves. Take Christmas for example. Many people outwardly pay great attention to this festival. However, they take part in it for social intercourse and fun. Isn’t it sating the lust on the pretense of worshiping God? After reading God’s words, I understood this: If one believes in God yet doesn’t know God or the way of God, he will easily repeat the mistake of the Pharisees, considering the temple to be greater than God. Such belief can’t be approved by God, and neither can he be saved by God when he believes in that way.
Having known God’s will, I didn’t take part in the Christmas party this year or run and bustle for celebrating it, but spent it eating and drinking God’s words and fellowshipping about God’s will with brothers and sisters. I had great enjoyment in it. This is the true worship of God!
Bible Verse–Mark 10:45
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
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